E-consumers: what expectations do different age groups have?

To establish the needs of e-consumers, from purchase through to delivery, it is useful to study their purchasing habits according to age. Do requirements differ depending on whether you are 25 or 55? How can your delivery options and strategy be adapted according to the preferences of your target customer? Needs may vary depending on customer profile, as we shall see by looking at two sectors of the population: digital natives and senior netizens.

Digital natives – capitalising on their impatience
The Ifop/Get it lab survey carried out in France (“Observatory of e-consumer expectations”, March 2014) highlighted the specific characteristics of buying habits on the Internet according to profiles.

The peculiarities of young e-shoppers were reflected in several ways. When asked the question “What would encourage you to buy online the products you currently only purchase in shops?“, only 48% of 18-24 year-olds mentioned price. Their decision to make purchases on the Internet rather than in-store is not intrinsically linked to cost.

Interestingly, the time factor had a far greater influence. Some 76% of 18-24 year-olds said they would be encouraged to make purchases online by the possibility of 24-hour delivery. In addition to their youthful impatience, they are also more demanding, with a greater number of them being only moderatelysatisfied with the notifications provided to track their order.

Senior netizens, an age-group to target
Let’s jump a couple of generations and take a look at people over 50. Most studies show that these ‘silver surfers’ are increasingly operating online. Some 74.3 million European adults in this age-group surf the net, according to a report by IAB Europe (April 2013), which studied the habits of those aged 55 and over. The proportion of silver surfers is particularly high in Norway (75%), Sweden (73%), and Switzerland and the Netherlands (72%).

We are no longer in an era where ‘early adopters’ and ‘digital natives’ have the monopoly – the older generation is a valid population for e-traders to target, too. While 84% of those surveyed by Get it lab say they receive deliveries at home, this figure increases among the retired, reaching as high as 89%. Another characteristic of this consumer group is its intolerance. Only 26% would consider making further purchases from a website which delivered their order after the specified date without informing them.

At the same time, the IAB survey found that 78% of silver surfers visit new websites. It seems senior citizens are quite curious and like to make new discoveries. The majority (86%) of people aged over 65 are satisfied with the delivery schedules offered when they make online purchases. Finally, they are more diligent than their younger counterparts – almost half of them (46%) have never abandoned an online purchase.

Of course, in addition to these generational insights, some factors are specific to individual countries (due to the maturity of the market/culture etc). You can find out what these are every month in our country factsheets.

A solution for every generation
In conclusion, these results suggest it is essential to adjust your strategy and offer services suited to your target age-groups. Is your target customer relatively young? Then focus your energy on the quality of your tracking. Are you aiming more for the older generation? Then focus on your home-delivery solution. With its extensive international network, Landmark Global enables you to reach almost every address in the world on a daily basis, and offers you efficient tracking solutions. Contact our team to find out about the various solutions we offer